


Apologies

by Midnight_Lupus



Category: Little Nightmares (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fix-It of Sorts, Hurt/Comfort, mono went through a lot at the end of the game and he's tired and hurt, six pulls mono up, this could go either way and I might need to write both endings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-19
Updated: 2021-03-25
Packaged: 2021-03-28 20:27:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30145125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Midnight_Lupus/pseuds/Midnight_Lupus
Summary: Six pulls mono up, and after they escape he uses what's left of his powers to reunite Six with her shadow, but the cost on his already bruised and beaten body might just be too high.
Relationships: Mono & Six (Little Nightmares), Mono/Six (Little Nightmares)
Comments: 48
Kudos: 347





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this kept going through my head and practically demanded to be written, so I gave it a shot. From here there are two possible ways this story could go, and if you all want more then I'll attempt to write them/continue this fic a bit. I love writing feral behavior, so this is kind of a perfect setup for me.

She was free. He was almost done.

Six was sprawled across from him in the dim living room they had been spat out into after their daring escape, the static light from the television casting wavy impressions on her yellow raincoat before the screen went dark and the unit lost power. Around them the house seemed to sigh as the remaining electricity flowed out of it like lifeblood. 

Mono was tired...so tired....but it wasn’t over yet. He had one last thing to do before he could rest.

Nearby the shadow figure of his friend stood quietly on the edge of the worn rug, seeming to stare at him without eyes. The boy dragged himself up off the ground, breath catching as his ribcage lit with agony, and stumbled over to his erstwhile companion. “Six”

She looked up at him, eyes glinting from under the hood of her coat with passive confusion and slight mistrust. Her hesitance sent guilt crawling through his stomach, but he didn’t have time to ask for permission, the energy from the signal was ebbing from his system in waves.

_Hurry. Hurry._

Grabbing the small hand that had pulled him up over the edge of the cliff, he hauled Six to her feet and stumbled over to the static shadow, the one only he had the power to interact with. It fizzed and popped at him as Mono reached out and gripped the edge of it, closing his eyes and feeling for what was left of his energy and _tugging_. It hurt like fire, searing through his nerves as he kept himself from absorbing the specter while channeling it through him and into its rightful host. The shadow tried to resist him, the boy could feel its malice lashing out through his system; it wanted to stay free, unbound from Six. He gritted his teeth and pushed with renewed vigor, he would fix this even if it cost him everything. 

As soon as the transfer was complete there was a pulse of power that broke Mono’s grip on Six and sent them both to the floor again. Papers sitting on the coffee table nearby fluttered in the wave of energy, trying to escape from the moisture that had glued them to the surface months ago. It didn’t take his partner long before she crawled back up to her knees and shook herself like a bird shedding loose feathers.

Mono didn’t get up, couldn’t. He was done. 

He could see his friend looking herself over, trying to find physical evidence for the sudden wholeness she could feel before seemingly giving up and crawling over to him. There were no words from her-- there rarely were. Six squatted there next to him, face covered by the shadow of her jacket’s hood but head tilted at a slightly questioning angle.

He owed her an explanation, then he could rest. 

Mono spoke in a series of words, weakly gesturing to fill in gaps as he went along. Primarily the things that needed communicating were conveyed in sign language or the barest of whispers--being too loud could draw highly unwanted attention, but sometimes signing just wasn’t enough.

“Took you… sorry… sorry” Words would never tell her how sorry he was, how angry at himself he was for being paralyzed by his fear in that moment, unable to take her hand and try to pull her away from their adversary. The girl’s scream still bounced around the edges of his consciousness like a razor edged ball, opening fresh wounds whenever it came to the forefront.

“Had to...find you”. Mono’s self-hatred had quickly given rise to panicky determination, sending him running through the city to try and reach his friend. Deadly gaps between buildings and faceless adults had meant nothing to him as he raced toward the city center, to the Tower.

“Chased...by Him. Needed escape. Train... disconnected. Crashed. Hurt.” Dear God how it had hurt, the impact of the train car crashing into the station wall had nearly torn his small body to shreds. Mono remembered the room spinning around him, a ringing in his ears as he had slowly picked himself up and had begun limping onward, pushed by his one mission: rescue Six. Nothing else had mattered, not the pain, not the blood, not the way his side felt like something had fundamentally broken there. Six’s shadow had urged him forward as well, taunting him with his own failure, walking on the rails as if in play.

He hadn’t gotten far though. “He found me...fought. _Destroyed him._ ” The last statement was strong and filled with satisfaction. When the Thin Man had showed up in his path, blocking his way, that had been the last straw. This monster had ruined everything, had torn his friend away from him, was trying to stop him from rescuing her. The fury in him had made gripping his powers easy, and he had forced the Thin Man down until he was nothing but ashy static blowing away in the wind like forgotten dust. 

“Had to….to hurry. Find you. Used powers, _jumped._ Tower”. Mono paused in his telling, panting to catch his seemingly shortening breath before continuing. Forcing words out was taking its toll; the boy was beginning to feel lightheaded. He was almost at the end. “Found you...changed. Trapped...by….music box. Broke it… only way... sorry… so sorry, Six.” Her shrieks of pain and rage had felt like knives in his stomach, twisting in deeper as the hammer had come down on that cursed music box, destroying the thing his friend had held so dear. Mono knew she was angry about that, and he deserved that anger. There had been a moment on the bridge where he had looked up at her and seen the hurt and fury burning in those dark eyes, a moment where he knew she had considered dropping him into the pit below. 

“Escaped.” The boy flicked his eyes at the television they had come through, sitting quiet and innocent on the floor like it hadn’t played a part in ruining their world beyond repair. “Needed...fix you.” In choosing to haul him up from the abyss she had given him a chance to make it up to her, a chance to use the last of his abilities for good. “Did it...fixed you…sorry.” He had done everything he could to right the wrong, and now...now she was “Free. You’re free, Six.” Shivers were overtaking his thin frame as the adrenaline faded from his system and he started to crash towards shock. “S-sorry...sorry.” He had to make sure she understood. She had to know how much he had regretted letting her go and that he’d done what he had to do to save her.

Six reached out and tugged the edge of his coat sleeve, and then tugged him again when he didn’t attempt to move. “Up. Leave.”

The room was whirling slowly, blurring along the edges as if reality was sliding out of focus. Did she want him to leave her space because she was still angry at him? Did she hate him? Mono shook his head and closed his eyes briefly against the dizziness. “Can’t… tired… hurt… sorry.” Sorry for hurting her, sorry for not being a better friend, sorry that he didn’t think he would be able to get up...maybe ever again; sorry that he couldn’t do as she asked and leave. Everything was one huge mass of pain, throbbing through the boy’s body in time with his heartbeat; he could hear the blood rushing through his ears. Another shudder wracked him, jolting damaged ribs with bright agony. 

Six’s face wavered in front of him. Was she frowning? It was probably because he was wasting her time. He was going to have to rest and recover for several days assuming he woke up at all-- something that seemed unlikely given the way he felt at the moment. If he ended up dying here then Six would have to move him before she could use the space; another burden he would be dumping on her. “S’rry” The apology came out slurred and sounded fuzzy to him, like static in a poorly tuned radio. Even though he’d messed it all up, even though she hated him, Mono was glad he’d met Six. It had been so wonderful to not be alone, if only for a short while. One corner of his mouth tugged up as he looked at the girl who had been his companion for the past weeks, he was going to miss her. 

Unconsciousness pulled at him. Mono had no idea whether it was sleep or death but he was powerless to fight it. Instead he reached out... and let it carry him away... 


	2. Chapter 2

Six wasn’t sure exactly what was happening.

She’d been looking down at Mono as he hung suspended, her hand the only thing between him and the abyss, and he’d looked up to meet her gaze.The boy had always had a paper bag over his head, and so she’d never seen his face, but looking at it she had come face to face with wide, frightened eyes. He’d let the Thin Man capture her, let him turn her into a twisted, grotesque form with a horrible emptiness inside her, had destroyed her music box…

...and had come back for her.

Despite his obvious fear of the Thin Man, Mono had appeared in the Signal Tower to save her. She was under no illusions, they had been far away from the Tower when she was taken, and yet somehow he’d managed to get all the way to her in what felt like a relatively small amount of time. What’s more, the Thin Man had been nowhere in sight. Had Mono gotten around him somehow? It didn’t matter, they were almost out of time. 

She was furious with Mono, and a sinister voice in her head told her that he deserved to be dropped, deserved to rot in the Tower forever or be consumed by whatever fleshy monster was now staring at them through hundreds of starving eyes, but in the end her...conscience?..had won out. Yanking him up, they had fled the collapsing Tower and been unceremoniously plopped out of a television somewhere in the Pale City. The carpet smelled like mold, and the power quickly went out, but they were away from whatever monstrosity had been watching them and now they were safe. She was hungry though, painfully so.

Six didn’t have time to appreciate the respite; however, and was suddenly pulled upright by her partner, who tugged her across the room and grabbed ahold of.... Her shadow? Had she left one of those static impressions like the ones they had stumbled across in their journeys? Were those impressions from other children who had been snatched away by the Thin Man? The girl’s questions were interrupted as a sudden tingling spread from her hand where it was joined with Mono’s and engulfed her whole frame. Something was happening. The horrible emptiness inside of her was easing up, the hunger slowly abating to a manageable level. A jolt sent her back to the floor, but she was up quickly and began examining herself.

She felt better. Much better. What had Mono done? Her shadow was nowhere to be seen… had he  _ put it back? _ The boy in question was still lying on the floor a few feet away from her, head turned to watch as she crawled over and silently asked what exactly he had just done.

Mono started to talk then, relaying a series of events to her that explained his swift presence in the Tower. He apologized for letting her be taken, and she could tell from his broken tone that he truly meant it, though why he was just lying there instead of sitting up properly to say it was beyond her at the moment. 

The comment about the train stopped her. What on earth had he gotten up to without her there to supervise? He managed to crash an entire train? Hurt though, he said. Now that he mentioned it Six could see bruises forming on his hands and ankles, and a scrape sloped over one cheek; there were no doubt more injuries hidden by his clothing. Is that why he wasn’t getting up? They had just been running through the tower though, surely then it wasn’t that bad! 

Unaware of her confusion Mono continued his narrative and--wait. He had  _ killed _ the Thin Man? How? She’d seen him go through television screens before, and knew he could do something to mess with the frequency of a broadcast, but how could his powers actually be used to destroy someone? A part of Six was impressed; clearly Mono had hidden depths. Then he’d apparently somehow  _ warped _ his way to the Tower to find her. This next part she knew, though he had to catch his breath and took a long time in continuing, and finally he was explaining that he’d just fixed her somehow.

“Free. You’re free, Six.” 

She could hear the pride in his voice, though he appeared to be getting cold for some reason and was now shivering. The story was baffling to her, but right now Six felt they’d stayed in this gloomy living room long enough. She reached out and tugged at Mono’s sleeve. “Up. Leave.” She could process everything later, think about whether or not she wanted to keep traveling with him, but at the moment the familiarity would be calming.

Mono didn’t move to get up though, instead shaking his head minutely at her. “Can’t… tired… hurt…. Sorry.” An unnatural shudder made the boy clench his jaws in apparent pain. 

He couldn’t get up? Now Six felt unease curling in her stomach. Mono’s eyes were going out of focus and started wandering around the room before settling back on her. 

“S’rry.” 

Something was wrong here. Mono never slurred his words, not even when he was tired. Had using his powers to fix her done something to him? She watched as her companion gave the barest hint of a smile before his eyes rolled up into his head and he went totally limp. 

“Mono?”

Nothing. He was still breathing, but the rise of his narrow chest was shallow and rapid. Six reached out to poke his face and drew back at the heat she could feel  radiating off of him. He had a fever.

_ Shit. _

Six had never been ill like this before. She’d gotten colds when she was younger, and had once thrown up after eating some food that had gone bad, but this seemed like something else entirely. This was dangerous. Being unconscious meant that trouble could find you without you knowing about it. To a lone traveler it was nearly a death sentence.

But Mono wasn’t alone…

From a survival standpoint this was going to be a very difficult decision. On the one hand, staying in one place to look after a sick companion could be dangerous, could make them easy to find. Staying in one spot for several days also put a strain on resources in the immediate area; she would have to go farther and farther to forage the longer they remained. The faceless Viewers were roaming the area, and avoiding them was irritating and sometimes hazardous. The Pale City hadn’t proven itself to be very stable either. There was a chance their shelter could collapse, and all of this without any guarantee that Mono would recover.

On the other hand, there were benefits to traveling with another person, as she had recently been taught. It meant another pair of eyes to keep watch, another set of hands to help lift or drag things or wield a weapon. Gaps too wide for one person to jump could now be crossed, shelves too high to be reached could now be scaled. Mono was smart, often finding ways around obstacles that she never would have thought up; he was strong, able to wield tools and pipes and axes as weapons. 

It was more than that, though. Having someone there meant comfort if there was sadness, solidarity in the face of fear, courage found in the strength of numbers. Mono was a warm back against her own in the night, a humorous pantomime if she was frustrated or disheartened. He taught her new words and new techniques and filled a part of her she hadn’t known was empty before. He would share food with her, even giving her more than his own share when she was extra hungry; he had found the raincoat because she was shivering...

And, more than anything… he would stay and help if it was her. 

Six growled to herself, gnashing her teeth. Damn Mono and his sneaky installation of a moral compass within her. Damn him for making her weak enough to feel concern for another person, to feel pity. She was mad at him, but she was going to make sure he could wake up and hear her say it to his face. Her decision was made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're going this direction first. Maybe later I'll write a potential different ending, but we'll go the long way round to start with. This was a shorter chapter, but the next one is probably going to be quite a bit longer.


	3. Chapter 3

_ Prioritize, strategize, act. _

If Six was going to take care of Mono, she would need a good setup and a lot of supplies. First she would need to tend to any wounds that needed it, then she would need to set up a comfy, safe space to sleep, and then she could worry about food and water.

There was nothing she could do about the bruises that were cropping up on Mono’s too-pale skin, and the cuts were small enough to disregard, but the way he had been shuddering and panting indicated a larger issue. Unbuttoning her partner’s coat--which seemed to have protected him from any sharp edges-- the girl carefully ran her hands down his chest and over his ribs, stopping when she felt something out of order. Six had killed enough animals to know what broken ribs felt like and, while this didn’t feel like a bad break, she could tell that something was at the very least cracked. 

The main danger from broken ribs was something moving around and poking through an organ, typically a lung. That hadn’t happened yet or Mono would have been coughing up blood by this point-- a mental image that gave Six’s stomach a queer pang. It stood to reason that the best way to keep the bones from moving around was to keep them still, but she couldn’t exactly splint a whole ribcage...perhaps if she tied a cloth around his middle laying on either side of the bone she could bind it in place? It would have to do.

Six took a quick scan around the dim room before scurrying deeper into the apartment to try and locate fabric; her bare feet made little noise on the wooden floor as she pattered around like a small animal. There was a bathroom off the hallway but it was of little consequence to her; she supposed the toilet could still be used even if it couldn’t flush. At last she located a bedroom, and scaled the nightstand to get on top of the bed. The floral comforter was mildewy and dusty, so she yanked it back and shoved it down until the sheets beneath were revealed. The top sheet was clean enough, but there was no way Six would need the whole thing. 

Thankfully the girl’s pointed teeth were good for more than ripping meat off the bone. After gnawing a hole midway down the cloth she was able to tear off a sizable portion of sheet which was bundled up in scrawny arms and taken back to the living room for further destruction. Once several thin strips were created, Six began winding them carefully around Mono’s chest and sides over his shirt until she was sure that things were unlikely to shift about. She gave a satisfied nod, now for a sleeping spot. 

The remains of the sheet would make good bedding, and there was a blanket on the back of the couch that could be used as well. They needed to move though. Six didn’t like how open it was in the middle of the living room, she needed a corner or a shelter of some kind to keep things from sneaking up behind them as they slept. The rear corner of the living room looked dry, and she wouldn’t have to risk moving Mono too far. A footstool near the armchair was turned on its side to make a sort of footboard but the side was left open to make it easier for Six to see out into the room. The couch blanket was thick enough to pad the edges and with the sheet in the middle the end result was a cozy sort of nest big enough for the two of them to rest comfortably in. 

Moving Mono was the hardest part. Six was strong, but it was more the fact that he was bigger than her and limp as wet paper that made the transport difficult. The girl ended up pulling her partner across the rug by the shoulders of his coat until she could tuck him safely into the nest. He neither moved nor gave any indication of consciousness during the process, which was decidedly worrying, but Six needed supplies before she could try and bring him around.

It was still raining outside, drops splatting against the dingy kitchen window and the occasional rumble of thunder making the walls vibrate. Six moved to the kitchen and pushed a chair against the counter to allow her to climb up, and from there she scrambled onto the windowsill and heaved until the window creaked open. Clambering back down to the counter, Six checked the dish drainer nearby and recovered a slightly dusty bowl from it. Wiping it off took but a moment and she moved her prize to the windowsill to begin collecting water. A larger plastic bowl was sent hurtling to the ground below the countertop; when there was enough water she could empty the bowl on the windowsill over the side of the counter and into the bowl below, where it would be easier to take over to Mono in the nest. 

A rumble from her stomach reminded Six that water was only half the battle. She knew better than to check the refrigerator for any food; the faceless Viewers hadn’t consumed anything but signal since it all started, so anything perishable had long ago rotted and grown mold. That being said, if there was meat in the freezer it would now begin to thaw with the loss of power. It would be tough to chew, but Six had ways around that issue. The thought of raw meat made her salivate, but it would take a long while for anything to thaw enough for consumption; even pointed teeth were no match for ice.

For now she would raid the cabinets. She had to use a toaster as a step stool, but finally the girl was able to yank open one of the wooden doors to see what awaited her inside. The verdict was good, considering most places she and Mono checked had either been ransacked by other children or chewed through by rats. A tin of crackers sat on one shelf; they would be stale but edible. There were several cans of various and sundry food, but Six would need to find a way to open them. Logic decreed that a can-opener had to be somewhere in the kitchen, so she would search for that later and try to make it work--something that she had found was much easier with two people. Even better, a jar of fruit jelly was in the cabinet! It was a lucky find, since the sugar would be good for quick energy and it was soft and easy to eat. All in all it looked as if they were set here for at least the next couple of days.

The tin of crackers was sent hurtling towards the floor, and after a moment of hesitation the jar went down too. It broke in half upon hitting the floor and splattered some of its contents around, but that had been the plan. Six couldn’t unscrew the lid without someone else to hold the jar still. Jumping down from the countertop and onto the floor, Six lugged the tin of crackers over to the nest before coming back for one half of the jam jar, being mindful of the glass. 

Her stomach growled again.

It wasn’t the all consuming hollowness that she’d felt after the Thin Man had taken her, but it hurt more than a normal hunger pang would. Six would want meat, and soon, but for now she would settle for some crackers with jam. Opening the tin and grabbing some, she smeared the fruit preserves over top and dug in with relish. The nice thing about food being designed for the larger adults was that it didn’t take as much to feed someone like her--although she could always seem to find room for more. Mono always told her to take more time with her food, but her self-control was limited. A few seconds later the snack had disappeared and she was feeling a bit more like herself….whatever that meant. 

Now it was time to try and wake up Mono. Turning to him, Six leaned down and tapped gently on his shoulder. “Hey.”

“Nnh.” The boy’s brows furrowed for a moment as he tilted his head slightly away from her. Another tap went unacknowledged. 

Six frowned. He wasn’t waking up, either because of the fever or the exhaustion. Neither was good, but for now maybe it was better to let him sleep and try again later. It wouldn’t hurt her to sleep either; the last...she didn’t know how many hours… had been nothing but stress after stress. She nudged Mono further towards the wall so that she could be on the outside in case....wait. A thought made her stop. 

Was  _ that _ why Mono always insisted sleeping closest to the opening of wherever they chose to rest? Six had assumed he was slightly claustrophobic, but thinking back on it now she realized that he had never shown discomfort in the vents they frequently had to crawl through. A curl of foreign warmth licked against the girl’s ribs as she stared silently at her companion. He had slept on the outside because if something came after them he wanted it to have to go through  _ him _ before it could get to  _ her. _ A part of her was uncomfortable, because she didn’t need protecting, but another part of her saw it for the silent gesture of…. _ something _ … that it was. Friendship? Concern? Six shook her head to clear it. Clearly she needed sleep if she was wasting thought on all this emotional nonsense. The girl turned several circles before curling up on her side of the nest, though only after she had tucked the edge of the couch blanket over Mono’s lanky form.

He was still shivering, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is writing itself kind of quickly at this point, so I'll just keep updating whenever it feels like enough. The logistics of getting water down from a windowsill were harder to figure out than I had anticipated.


	4. Chapter 4

Six woke a while later to a disturbance behind her. Was Mono awake? Sitting up she turned and surveyed the boy to see him moving restlessly about in his sleep, muttering bits of nonsense and the occasionally discernable word. A quick touch to his forehead revealed that he was still far too warm.

“Mmn… s’rry. S’rrysorrysorry.” 

Six hushed him gently, unsure of her next step. Was he still apologizing about letting the Thin Man take her or was he stuck in some other fever dream? Either way the girl could see that her friend was unsettled, his eyebrows furrowed in distress. A rumble of thunder drew her attention to the windowsill in the kitchen, where her bowl sat with who knew how much water in it. She was thirsty. Mono was probably thirsty too.

Slipping from the nest, the girl made her way into the next room and up to the gray counter where she could see that her rainwater collection system had done well. It wasn’t full, but the bowl was over halfway filled. With a grunt of effort Six slid the vessel from the sill and lowered it to the countertop, pausing to touch her lips to the water and slake her own thirst. Feeling refreshed, she pushed the bowl to the edge of the counter and tipped it forward to let the water run out into the container below. The first dish then went back to the windowsill to hopefully continue its collection and Six went down the chair and back to the floor where she could drag the other bowl over next to the nest. 

The girl leaned over and shook her partner’s shoulder gently. “Psst, hey.”

Mono’s eyelids fluttered and for a moment it appeared as if he was waking, but the shivering and breathing patterns didn’t change. He was still dreaming. This presented a problem for Six, because if he wasn’t awake then he couldn’t eat--but he needed some kind of nutrients. 

She could maybe get him to drink though, so it was time to get creative. First, Six pulled some of the couch blanket towards her and gnawed off a small section; this was then soaked and applied to the boy’s forehead. The cool water appeared to be comforting; Mono sighed a little and some of the restless twitching eased. Following that, the girl then dug out a generous handful of jam and dumped it into the bowl before stirring vigorously with her clean hand. The jammy one she licked clean with relish, savoring the treat as the rest slowly dissolved into the water. 

When it appeared that her mixture was fully combined, Six moved some of the bedding to prop up Mono’s head and tugged the bowl into her lap. There was no spoon, and even if she’d found one it would have been too big to use, so the girl dredged up a tiny handful of sugary water and tipped it carefully into his mouth; she had to rub his throat to get him to swallow, but at least it was a start. She fed him bits at a time until it felt like enough and then set the bowl aside. It wasn’t much, and it wasn’t solid, but the sugar would at least provide some energy to his fevered body and hopefully would last until he woke. 

How often would she need to do this? As little as he could consume at once, Six guessed that the feedings would need to be fairly frequent. He needed to wake up quickly so that he could eat some actual food; sugar water alone wasn’t enough to survive on. She’d need to find something else to give him if he didn’t wake by the end of the day. 

What if he didn’t wake up at all? 

The thought stole across her mind without permission, taunting her. What if she had to sit here and watch Mono slowly weaken and die? Six hissed as her stomach cramped at the thought and stood to begin pacing the living room rug. What if all her efforts were wasted and she wasn’t good enough to fix this? What if the next time she woke she was all alone? What if he died still thinking she hated him, or didn’t realize that she was here trying to help? 

It wasn’t fair. She never would have been bothered with all this before Mono. She would have just left and been on her merry way! If she hadn’t met Mono she never would have been caught by the Thin Man, never would have been changed! Then again… she might still be in the Hunter’s cabin… she never would have been free in the first place. They had done so much in the past weeks, and Six found herself proud of everything they’d beaten. They had overcome the Bullies, they had escaped the Teacher, they had evaded and finally trapped and killed the Doctor. They had escaped the Tower, escaped the Eyes. 

The soft pride that settled in her chest was addictive. She was proud of her accomplishments, but also kind of proud that she had shared them with someone else. Six wanted to overcome even more, wanted to beat the cruel world around her and emerge victorious at the end, and… and she wanted to do it with Mono. There was pride there, but also a sort of possessiveness. Mono was  _ hers _ . He had found her, she had found him, and now he was her friend. He’d chosen to stay with her, go back for her, fix her. Sometimes it annoyed her that he presumed that Six was his to protect, but now she realized that it also meant he was  _ hers _ to protect. She felt powerful, having a claim on his life, no one would hurt him without her permission or she would kill them. If someone tried to take Mono from her she would track them down and make them pay. Six realized that it was exactly what Mono had done for her. The bullies had been smashed open, the Thin Man destroyed, and no matter where she had been taken he had found her. She was powerless to stop him from protecting her. 

Was this what it meant to be partners? To be friends? Powerful enough to stake a claim on someone’s being but powerless to stop their own claim on hers? Worrying that he would put himself in danger for her while he worried about her doing the same? In a way it was terrifying knowing that Six would risk her own survival to ensure Mono’s, that she valued him above herself, but her own value to him was just as high. She had to trust that he would do his best to keep her alive as she would do her best for him, that in keeping one another safe they kept themselves safe too. 

Friendship was a heavy thing in this world, and she had been given it freely. It had taken Six a while to learn, but now she knew it was something that she would fight to keep. She had almost dropped Mono in the Tower, had almost repaid that gift with treachery, and thinking back on it now she winced at what it would have felt like had their situation been reversed. Empathy was dangerous here, but it was only for him. Had it been anyone else in that Tower she would have dropped them without a second thought; if there had been another person escaping too she would have gladly trampled over top of them to get her and Mono out. 

Internal conflict somewhat settled, Six stopped her pacing and returned to the nest to find Mono back to twitching and muttering apologies. He couldn’t keep doing this or he would lose even more energy.

“Psst.” Six patted the side of his cheek. “Mono.” 

Dark eyes slitted open for a second, seeming to recognize who she was but not where they were or what was happening. “Six?” His voice was like sandpaper. “S’x...srry, m’srry.” 

“No.” Dammit she needed him to stop fretting. His eyes had closed again but her instinct said that he was still partially awake. She had an idea.

“Mono. Forgiven.”

“Hn?” The boy dragged his eyes back open, gaze unfocused but searching desperately for her. “Sss?” His attempt to say her name was pitiful, but she tapped his shoulder in affirmation anyway.

“Forgiven.” The word felt strange coming out of her mouth, like her lips were fighting to keep it in, but she made sure to speak clearly to increase his chance of understanding.

There was a long pause as the word seemed to percolate through Mono’s fever-addled mind, but then he sighed out a sort of “hhhkay” and his head drooped back over to one side. He was gone again, still shivering but not muttering. 

Six chose to take that as a good sign. Maybe she’d gotten through to him and he’d rest better. Climbing into the nest and stretching out, the girl tried to figure out her next move. She needed to come up with something else to feed her friend, something better than sugar water, but any of the cans in the pantry would need the can-opener and she couldn’t work it by herself. One person had to squeeze the handles and the other had to turn the crank, and dropping one of the cans onto the floor would have no effect. Those tin cylinders were meant to take a whole lot of damage, and it was too thick to poke her canines through; knives would skid off of it and even if she did find a way to crush the can it would just spill its contents out and become unusable.

If she could catch something then maybe she could turn it into a broth of some kind, but to do that she would have to make fire since Mono’s stomach didn’t process raw meat well. Adults usually had matches stashed away somewhere, but the floor was wood and anything else was carpet...except for the bathroom. There was tile there, but nowhere for the smoke from a fire to escape to and Six knew from bitter experience that there were sensors of some kind in houses that would begin shrieking if they found smoke. The sound was deafening and would draw Viewers in from half a mile around the building. They didn’t run on power, either, but on batteries; beyond that they were also usually too high on the wall for her to even dream of reaching. This house didn’t have a hearth either. She could potentially make a fire out on the street in a sheltered area, but that would keep her away from Mono for many hours since the meat and bones would need to steep in the water. 

Broth wouldn’t work then; Six was running out of options quickly. She was going to have to force him to wake up and eat something, preferably something with protein in it although the odds of that were low. Most meat needed quite a bit of chewing and at this stage she wasn’t sure Mono would be able to do much of that. Maybe the best option was to soak the crackers in some water and then try that; it wouldn’t be very tasty, but it would at least be solid food. She would try that along with some not-watered jam and see if it worked. Having a plan made the girl feel better, and at last she drifted off into a light doze.

It only seemed like minutes later when a small scuttling noise drew her back into consciousness. Six tensed, it was coming from the kitchen. Looking back for a second to check that her partner was breathing and unharmed, she crouched low and left the nest to tread quietly towards the wall. Behind the cover of the wall, Six slid towards the opening of the kitchen and slowly peeked around the corner to see a hunched shape licking at the half of the jam jar she’d left on the floor. A rat! It must have come in through the open window. 

She crouched, hands on the ground and feet braced behind her. Going on all fours would allow a change in direction from front or back if the creature decided to dodge away. The rodent was fairly absorbed in the jam though, its narrow face stuck into the jar and back to her. The beast was nearly as large as her. Six crept forward, placing each hand and foot down carefully until the rat was in striking distance. Some primal instinct must have alerted her prey, because with a squeak of alarm it pulled its head from the jam jar and wheeled to try and escape. 

Too slow!

Six pounced and gripped dark fur tightly with both hands, digging her little nails in to try and keep hold as the rat squealed and thrashed. She flipped onto her back and wrapped her legs around the thing’s lower body, stretching out and forcing it to do the same to where the long teeth couldn’t land a mark on delicate skin. Growling furiously, the girl squeezed as hard as she could and leaned her head back; the rat extended its neck to try and get a breath into its abused lungs but before it had a chance there were pointed teeth sinking into its throat. Six ground down on it, closing off her prey’s windpipe until it slowly stopped struggling and flopped limply in death. 

Breathing heavily Six let her catch fall to the floor and shook herself briskly. Not a bad hunt! Too bad Mono had missed it, she was the better hunter out of the two and never missed a chance to show off her skills to him. That being said, he tended to look away if she decided to eat immediately, so perhaps it was better that he didn’t have to listen to her crunching. She sat there and ate her prize right in the kitchen, ripping past the fur to the wonderfully bloody meat beneath. Delightfully full, Six dragged the pitiful remains of her meal up to the countertop and pitched them out the open window. They wouldn’t stink up the house and they might attract more rats out there! Making sure to lick any blood from her hands, the girl scooped some water from the rain bowl and made sure to scrub over her mouth and face. 

Six slumped down to the floor and padded back to her nest and her friend. Eating that much always made her sleepy, so she made sure to feed Mono some more sugar water before lying down. She would most likely sleep for several hours now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Probably about two chapters left for this story, and then maybe I'll write the alternate (tragic) ending if people want.


	5. Chapter 5

Something was off… 

Six woke up alert to some sort of danger, her eyes darting across the living room to try and get a glimpse of an intruder. There were no foul odors indicating a Viewer had walked by, and the power was still out which meant the TV wasn’t functioning. The rain was a gentle patter and there were no vibrations warning of a building collapse, so what was it? It took another moment before the girl realized that the shallow breathing from the figure behind her had stopped.

Six had never moved so fast.

“Mono? Mono?!” Terror lancing through her gut, she whirled around and frantically started shaking the still form of her friend. He was fever-warm to the touch and pliant, so whatever this was had only happened seconds ago, but that didn’t solve the problem at hand. 

What had gone wrong? He hadn’t been so weak as to just stop breathing when she’d gone to sleep, and nothing had been in the area to mess with him. The only difference she noticed was that the shivering had moved his head into a position where it was tilted back and down. Six could see his lips starting to turn blue around the edges; he had to breathe! Under her small hands the girl felt her partner’s narrow chest give an abortive heave, like he was trying to draw breath but couldn’t. Maybe something was blocking his lungs? Hoping to clear his airway Six dragged Mono against her until he was propped upright, head lolling against her shoulder.  _ Please, please let this work. _

Whatever entity she had been pleading with apparently heard her; Mono gave a feeble, wet sounding cough and his flanks began to expand again, sides brushing against Six’s abdomen with each shaky breath. She inhaled with him, trying to settle her pounding heartbeat into something that felt less like a drumroll as she worked out exactly what had happened. At some point Mono’s head had moved off the small mound of fabric supporting it and had tilted back. As a result of that, the secretions that were normally swallowed or ran naturally down the throat had no place to go and had blocked his airway. He needed to be kept upright to help things drain like they were supposed to.

Wide eyed, Six dropped her face down to rest it in Mono’s fluffy hair. She had almost lost him. Her fear of waking up alone would have become a reality if she had been any heavier a sleeper. Remnants of terror felt like physical pains as they skated across her guts; that had been far too close. He needed to rest still, but she wasn’t about to trust her friend’s life to fate anymore. 

Curling awkwardly on her side, the girl leaned her partner so that his head was resting up against her abdomen; part of the couch blanket was stuffed beneath the small of his back for padding, but it was her side and his back that would keep the boy upright. To keep Mono from slipping Six bracketed one of his shoulders with her upper legs and the other with her own torso; the position allowed her to rest her head directly near his side and throw her uppermost arm up and over his middle. Now when he breathed she could feel it against her legs and chest and under her hand; he wouldn’t fall to the side and any change would be picked up on immediately. The closeness would help to soothe Six’s frayed nerves as well, it satisfied her urge to hold him as a reassurance that he was alive. 

For a second her eyes stung. What would she have done? The logical, survival oriented part of her brain said that she would have left, found her way out of the city, and then gone somewhere new. A deeper part of her said she would have curled around him much as she was doing now, would have held him until the warmth ebbed from his body and then maybe even longer. Shuddering, the girl gripped her friend’s shirt tightly with one hand, fighting the absurd urge to curl so tightly around him that they just became one person. Mono was here, alive, warm, and breathing. The sudden dependency on him was disorienting, and Six understood that she’d vastly underestimated exactly how far this strange boy had wormed his way into her heart. 

Six spent the rest of the night wrapped around Mono, unable to sleep for the nagging fear that he would stop breathing again as soon as she closed her eyes. His fever was still high, and he continued to shiver, but he was still alive when the sky outside began to lighten. Rubbing her tired eyes Six roused herself and maneuvered around until she could give the boy more sugar water. There wasn’t much left at this point, but it was enough to try soaking the crackers in. The taste probably wouldn’t be all that good, but in this world you couldn’t really afford to be picky. She ate two crackers herself before taking one and laying it in the shallow liquid at the bottom of the bowl; then she turned and gently pet his head.

“Mono? Up.” It didn’t elicit much of a response, so she moved to tap him repeatedly on the cheek. “Up.”

Her efforts were rewarded when his dark eyes opened and settled blearily on her. “NhhSix?” 

“Eat.”

“N’h’ngry.” His eyelids fluttered. “Y’take ‘t.”

Six tapped him again. “No. Eat.” Reaching over and into the bowl, she pulled out the soggy cracker and pushed it against his mouth. “ _ Eat. _ ”

Thankfully in his exhausted state Mono didn’t have the energy to argue with her. Obediently he opened his mouth and took a lackluster bite; his nose wrinkled slightly at the taste and texture but he continued to chew as she fed him more of it. While he was finishing the first one Six put another in the water to soak and in the meantime dipped her finger into the jam--what was left of it anyway-- and smeared some between his lips. Reflexively the boy licked them and, realizing it tasted good, looked up at her woozily for more. 

The girl pushed the second soaked cracker at him in a clear order.  _ Eat this first and then you can have more. _ Mono made a tiny noise of protest but took the food anyway, chewing and swallowing with his eyes half closed and then giving a soft huff of expectation.  _ Jam now. _ Six gave him a glob of the preserves and then the dregs of the sugar water to wash it down as he fought to stay conscious. 

“Ss’good dream.” It was barely a murmur as his face slackened with sleep again.

Setting aside the funny quiver in her stomach, Six shook herself briskly. She needed to refill the water from her rain collection at the windowsill, but that would mean leaving Mono unattended and after last night she was loath to do that. Maybe if she padded more of the nest then she could lean him against the wall? It would have to do. 

Six eyed her sleeping friend before making a mad dash to the bedroom and grabbing the remaining half of the sheet she had ripped the day before; she bundled the cloth in her arms and nearly tripped on it while hurrying back to the living room and skidding to a halt next to Mono. Assured that her partner was still breathing, she began moving the sheet around until it was a loose roll and then stuffed it into the very back corner of the nest, the one bordered by two walls of the house. It took some situating and a reworking of the couch blanket but at last she had a sort of cloth cushion that was rolled tightly enough to not move or sink if leaned on. From there she carefully placed Mono’s head against the top of that cushion and tucked him in securely. Now he couldn’t fall to either side because of the walls, and the angle made it impossible for his head to tilt back. Much better.

When Six peered outside the kitchen window she was disappointed to see that nothing had been interested in the remains of her rat. Too bad, that. Any animal that could smell the leftovers would also smell the jam in the kitchen and come inside to investigate and then be in a perfect position for Six to pounce. For a second she imagined herself a spider, laying sticky traps and catching unsuspecting prey before eating it with sharp fangs, but shook the notion away. The rain had stopped sometime in the night, but her bowl had a substantial amount left in it; she emptied the whole thing into the plastic bowl. Now that the girl knew she could wake Mono to make him eat and therefore drink, there was no more need for sugar water. That being said, there weren’t many crackers left and they would need more food soon. 

She would need to leave Mono to forage even though she hated to do it. Staying with him wouldn’t do any good if they starved, and Six was sure there would be a way into the house bordering this one. The Pale City’s buildings lined up in rows, so most of the time there were whole blocks of dwellings that simply shared walls with one another. If she could find an air duct then she could easily make her way next door. Barring that, she could always scurry out the window and see if the next one over was open. 

Decision made, Six pulled the bowl of water close to the nest and gave her friend a long look. The padding was solid, he seemed less flushed, and there was daylight; this was the best time to go. Throwing a last glance over her shoulder at Mono, she scurried into the hallway and leapt to tug on the front door’s handle. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I couldn't resist a bit of a scare XD Poor Six.
> 
> Right, so my plan is to finish this fic (most likely one long chapter left) and then post the alternate ending or maybe several other alternates in another fic. I'll try to keep it to just one even though there are several points already in this story where it could have ended badly. The fluff won out on this fic, but damn I do love some good angst/tragedy.


	6. Chapter 6

The door to the outside swung open just enough to where Six could nudge her way through. She would open it wider if she needed to bring food in when she came back, but for now it would keep larger things from wandering in. Though not raining anymore, the skies were gloomy over the Pale City, and when the girl looked up the street she could see the gap a moderate distance away where the Signal Tower had previously loomed. Six made a rude gesture in its general direction before navigating the broken asphalt to get to the home next door. The entryway was gaping open, obviously not closed by the Viewer who had presumably left it at some point.

The inside of the house was much the same as the one she’d come from, but having the door open had done some serious damage. Mold and mildew crawled along the walls towards the center of the house like creeping roots, and water coming through the door had crept up to leave a mark of rot at least as tall as Six was. The power was out here as well, and the girl found herself thankful for that. If she ever heard a TV again it would be too soon.

Unfortunately for Six the water damage had eaten through the floor of the living room and the kitchen had collapsed partway down into the basement, cabinet doors hung open and empty, their contents long since scattered on the ground. Damn! Six was going to have to go farther than she’d hoped. A hole in the bathroom wall allowed her entrance to the bedroom in the next flat, which surprisingly had power, but that meant there was a chance of occupation. The front door was shut, so the floors were stable, but the telltale static of a television blared from the living room. Unease crawled down Six’s spine at the noise. The Thin Man was gone. Mono had killed him. Nothing would come out of there to take her.

Taking a deep breath, the small girl padded down the hall and peeked around the corner into the living room. There was a female Viewer standing in the center of the den, her faceless head pointed towards the TV, but she seemed to be standing there out of habit. With the Signal Tower gone there was no hypnotic broadcast to ensnare them, but the Viewers had spent so long keyed into the frequency that it seemed to be their only directive. They had fed off the signal, Six realized, so did that mean they would slowly starve now? The power would begin to shut down, and they had no mouths to eat with; however, that didn’t stop them from running after small prey and crushing them in their large hands. She would have to be careful; without the power of the signal it would be easier to attract attention.

Still. She needed to get into the kitchen. This was the last house in this row that wasn’t completely destroyed and the nearby blocks didn’t look encouraging. Six refused to go any farther than that to look around; any further and she wouldn’t be able to return to Mono in an emergency. Was there a way to get rid of the Viewer? The door was closed, and it was unlikely the Viewer would open it, so Six would either have to sneak by without getting caught or find a way to kill her opponent. Sneaking seemed to be her best chance; she was small and quiet and there didn’t seem to be any means of murder easily available.

Creeping across the hallway until she was against the wall that would lead along the den and into the kitchen, Six sidled by without taking her eyes from the Viewer. Her bare feet barely made a whisper on the wooden floors. She stopped cold any time the adult made a move, but for now it was just manic twitching; no reason to run yet. Turning the corner into the kitchen gave Six a chance to take a breath of relief, swallowing before crawling under the kitchen table and over to the countertop...which she couldn’t reach. It was too tall, and she couldn’t just scoot a chair across the floor like she had in her hideout. 

There! At the corner closest to her the bottom cabinet was divided into three drawers. If she could get them open then it would create a sort of stepladder up to the counter. Thankfully the drawers slid open easily, though she had a moment of peril when some of the contents in the bottom one shifted under her feet with a small tinkling noise. Six froze, but there were no footsteps pounding towards her. Safe for the moment. Once on the countertop the girl crouched as low to the surface as she could and stood on tiptoe to open the cabinets a crack. The first cabinet was nothing but dishes, which wouldn’t help her here, and the second held strange things like ‘cumin’ and ‘cloves’ in little boxes. They smelled nice but didn’t exactly look edible; all the pictures were of leaves and little black balls. 

Finally in the cabinet closest to the fridge she found the pantry, but now she had to get into it. Last time she had used a toaster to boost herself up, but the Viewer would surely hear something that heavy being moved. Taking a look back to ascertain her opponent’s position, Six primed herself and leapt, latching her fingers onto the bottom cabinet shelf and painstakingly hauling herself up with only her arms. 

The girl took a chance to catch her breath as she looked at the boxes and tins surrounding her. Canned corn, canned beans, a jar of haunted peppers, where was anything useful? Six went to the edge of the shelf, grabbed the middle one that sat above her, and scaled up onto it. There were cans of something called chowder, but behind them was a lucky break. Peanuts! They were in a sort of packet, and there weren’t too many, but they would be filling and full of protein. The girl stowed the packet away in one of her raincoat’s pockets and began to look for more; there weren’t any more. Water had dripped through the back of the cabinet and onto a box of pasta that had congealed inside the container, no thanks. Perhaps the top shelf had something better. Going to the edge of the middle shelf and grabbing for the top one, Six realized several things at once. 

There was nothing on the top shelf.

Because there was nothing on the top shelf there was nothing to help counter her weight when she grabbed it.

The water that had damaged the middle shelf had done even more damage to the top.

The girl realized all of this over the span of about a second, which was all she had before the top shelf splintered at the damaged area and was yanked down by her weight, clattering noisily against the piece of wood that acted as a door jamb for the cabinet. Her flailing feet knocked into the shelf below and sent a few odds and ends rattling down onto the countertop as she scrambled to regain stability. A muffled vocalization from the other room sounded and Six knew she had very little time to hide before the Viewer made it to the kitchen. With agility born of desperation she let go of the top shelf and kicked off the middle one to turn herself in midair; as soon as she landed on the counter she then sprinted over and made a wild leap for the top of the refrigerator that was nearby. 

Hoping that the Viewer’s footsteps were loud enough to mask her grunt of effort, Six hauled herself up on top of the appliance and backed away until she was against the wall. The fridge was tall enough that her enemy would have a difficult time reaching up to feel around, but now she was trapped in the kitchen until the Viewer either found something to blame for the noise or gave up and went back to the TV.

Neither seemed particularly likely at the moment. The woman had stampeded into the kitchen and was now stomping back and forth waving her arms wildly in an effort to catch anything out of place. The Viewer knew the layout of the house, so she avoided crashing into the chairs, but the fallen food on the floor very nearly sent her sprawling. Six wasn’t sure how much brain power Viewers had to divert to critical thinking, but the woman knew enough to begin systematically running her hands through the pantry to search for what had disturbed her food items.

The Viewer located the broken shelf and, thanks to her high heels, was able to feel towards the back and locate the wet spot from the water damage. It seemed to assuage her suspicion about an intruder, but apparently feeling the food in the pantry had set her off into a sort of useless routine. Bending down, the woman pulled open a cabinet and brought out a pot which she then filled in the sink and sat on top of the stove. The range was turned on, and the congealed pasta was retrieved from the middle shelf and set nearby.

Six thumped her forehead gently on the fridge. Was this Viewer seriously about to cook a meal that couldn’t be eaten? Was this some kind of programming previously initiated by the Tower? She needed to leave, Mono was waiting! Of course the Viewer was now just standing in the middle of the kitchen, apparently waiting to hear the water in the pot boiling and totally oblivious to the seething child trapped on top of the refrigerator. This was going to take awhile.

The girl watched the comedy of a dinner unfold over the course of the next hour. First the Viewer let the pot boil over, then she went to take it off the burner and promptly burnt both hands because apparently what was left of her brain didn’t connect ‘hot water’ and ‘hot stove’ to ‘hot pot handles’. Thus began a rampage through the kitchen until some sort of large mittens were located and the pot was finally rescued. What was left of the water was drained into the sink and the now amorphous lump of starch was placed on a plate and carried to the table like some sort of hunting trophy. Of course no main course was complete without a side, so Six had to cling to her spot as the fridge was yanked open and a bunch of rotting...somethings… were taken out and chopped up into a bowl. She wasn’t sure whether to be concerned or impressed that the Viewer managed to wield a knife without self-injury. 

Finally the woman sat down at the table and proceeded to… just sit. With no mouth she couldn’t eat, but that didn’t seem to convince her to leave her chair. Six had come up with nearly seventy different detailed plans for murder by the time the Viewer deemed dinner over and took the still full plate and bowl to the sink. The dishes were sloppily washed and placed into the dish drainer, the food was sitting in the sink waiting to rot (more), and seemingly satisfied the woman finally made her way back to the living room to stare at the television.

Six waited another five minutes to be safe before climbing down to the counter and dropping to the floor with a barely audible huff of relief. She slid into the living room and paused before making the rudest gesture she could think of towards the now quiet Viewer and sneaking back down the hallway to the bedroom. Returning to the damaged flat’s bathroom took but a moment and then Six was out the front door and returning back to her hideout. Her own door was right as she left it, so it seemed that nothing had come to call while she was away. Pushing the door closed with a  _ click _ , the girl removed the peanuts from her pocket and glanced at them dismally. She had been gone over half the day and had one measly snack to show for it.

“Pst.”

Her head came up, what on earth?

“Oii.” 

Six didn’t even register dropping her hard-won food as she made a mad dash down the hallway and skidded to a stop on the living room rug at the one of the best sights she’d ever seen. Mono was sitting propped against the back wall in their little nest, dark eyes tired but fully aware, the flush of fever absent in his cheeks. 

He offered a weary smile. “Hi, Six.”

A whine forced its way out of the girl’s throat as she threw herself across the remaining distance between them and barely avoided crashing full on into her friend. Her thin arms wound around Mono’s middle as she butted her head against his shoulder, rubbing her face against the soft material of his shirt like she was trying to mark him. 

“Hey, shh.” A warm hand carded through her hair as he returned the hug. “You okay?”

Was she okay. Was  _ she _ okay? Pulling back, Six immediately began pummeling his nearest shoulder with her fists. She wasn’t hitting her hardest, not wanting to injure him, but Mono was an idiot for asking her that after he had nearly  _ died.  _

He raised one arm to defend himself. “Ow! Hey--Six!”

All the energy seemed to abandon her and she stepped back, breathing heavily. Oh right, she hadn’t slept at all last night. Still glaring, the girl placed her hands on her hips. “Mine.”

Mono looked around, surveying the nest tiredly and then making as if to move.  _ Your nest? Oh, I’ll leave. _ He stopped when a small hand forcefully pushed him back down.

How to sum up everything she’d learned in the last day or so? How was she supposed to convey the enormity of what she’d decided? Six locked eyes with him, giving an extra shove to indicate that he was to stay put. 

_ “Mine.” _

Mono took a moment to process that before his eyes widened and he stared back at her. “Oh.” After a few more seconds he nodded slowly, solemnly. 

Satisfied, Six made a scooching motion at him and climbed into the nest. He was clearly still tired, and exhaustion was now gnawing at her the same way she gnawed a kill. She would deal with the food by the door later. Grumbling wordlessly to herself the girl moved them both around until she was fit into the curve of Mono’s body, his chest and abdomen brushing against her back so that she could feel him breathe. He seemed to accept her desires and made no protest, though a few moments later his voice cajoled her back from the near doze she’d entered.

“Six?”

She knew what he was asking.

“Yours.” 

A second later his arm draped across her and pulled her closer against him. Six sighed in contentment and shut her tired eyes. There was no telling what the next day would bring, but now she had every assurance that they would be facing it together. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohoo! I made it to the end of this fic! Mono and Six are good to go on their next adventure. 
> 
> I'll be posting the alternate outcome in another fic soon, so keep an eye out for that. The hard part is going to be figuring out which point to cut things off at XD So many opportunities for tragedy.
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoyed this little fic!


End file.
